Amphibious vehicle



2 1 1,646,611 Octf 5* 927' s. M. CODE AMPHIBIoUs VEHICLE Filed sept. 2o. 192e f 2 sheets-sheet 1 Jawa M 00de v Od. 25,1927. v 1,646,611

. s. M. coDE AMPHIIous VEHICLE Filed sept. 2o, 192e v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E E i amue /V. -Code which isprovided`-fwith a suitablebearing y i unirsi-.

equal facility Patented oei. 25,1927." j

I AMPIIIBIoUs VEHICLE."

Applcaton led September 20,r192 6. Serial 'N o.- 13G,428.

iThis invention relates to amphibious vehi-V cles and more particularly to that 'ty/pap' vehicle which is adapted .for travel lon land, water, o rice. 1 It contemplates more especiallyv the provision of an amphibious vehicle of the type disclosed in my pending application, Se-V rial No'. 77,367,V this application kbeingfa ycontinuation in part of vthe application.

One object ofthe Vpresent invention is1 to i simplify and improve the construction of devices of the character mentioned.

Another object is to Vprovide amphibious .traction means. y

Still another object is to provide an automaticallyoperable closure for the body of i the vehicle.

I taneously operative on land, ice, and water.

i etenaeiiy neng une 111.111 ef Figure i@ Figure 4 is a fragmentarysectional view f A fuither object is to provide a plurality of vehicle traction vmeans which are simul- Other objects and advantages will appear from the following disclosure Aofan illustrated embodiment of the present invention.

In the drawings: i Figure 1 is a sectional viewl iii elevation of a vehicle yembodying features of the pres ent invention.

`Figure2 is a plan iview of amphibious traction means used in connection with the vehicleshown in Figure 1. f

Figure 3.2 is a sectional view taken subtaken substantially alongy Figure 1.

Figure 5 isa fragmentary detail view of a portion of the traction means yshown in Figure 2. I

Figure ,propelling means shown in Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a view taken substantiall alongline VIIQVII of Figure 3. The vehicle selected for illustration' comprisesav suitable 'frame or chassis`10 having vertically disposed standardsv or supports 11 consisting of U-shaped 1ne1nbers12 se? cured to the under side of the frame 10 near f the corners thereof.

of the fmembersl 12 is a Journal ybox` 13 14 defining av horizontally disposed bore.

' Yieldableameans', in this instance aresilient springl', is interposed betweenV the frame 1Q the journal boX 13 within-thefinem- 611s an enlarged detail view of the Slidably flied in each eeeice.)

. sAiviUiinM. CODE, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ber to normally urge the journal bo`X`e`s13 tov their extremelower position.

Journaled in the aligned standards are'the i shafts" 16 17 which extend"longit'idinal`IV n ly of .the Vnormalv direction of travel, .eachh'aving ra beveledlgear 1,8- secured totheei;

instance;v resilient mounted elongated :ponyof intravelling through water.' The- .pon'

toons 19 and 20', 'in this instance, vhave'pro.- vided spiral blades 21 defining a helix along the length ofthe pontoons so as .to 'serve' as amphibious propelling lmeans when `being rotated `by the shafts 16 and 17 whicharei i operatively connected to tthev power means tobe hereinafter. d'escribedg Itis'v to be noted that the shafts 16 and 17' mayas in the present showing beprovided with tlexi'- ble joints 22 and 23v inorder thatthe rear bearings 13 mayextend 'beneath the front bearings for reasons beapparent.

stance,' four,` of standard' construction are niet' wii4 hereinafter. i i niupueei eenuieverepifinge 21, in einem:

554 secured' .to the chassis in the usual manner toyiel'dablysupport front Vand rear parallel spaced v shafts 25 and26 which areprovided with alignedsprocketfwheels 27 iixedonV the shaft Ato-positiv`ely drive endless chains 28,-Y not" 29. 30, and 31 disposed 'intermediate vthev pontoons 19 and'20 in parallel, spacedirel'a-l 'i i i tion therewith. rearsha-ft 26 hasfa pair' ofbevell'ed 'gears- It is tobe noted that 'the a2 and 33r xed thereto et Athe extremities thereof to mesh with the gears 1 8 disposed at the-rear'ends'oftheshafts 16 and 17 so that a driving -connectionis established be-A tween the shaft 26, `the pontoo'ns 16 and 17,. and theeiidless chainsliereinabove referred to. The chains 28 and 29 `as well as .the

'chains 30and 31 are' connectedV by means of. parallel 'bladesforfpaddles'31 which are spaced .eq'ui-distantly'along the length there- Y l of by means 'of vthe projectinglugs35securedy tothe chains in any appropriati-x inanner and riveted orfotherwise `iiXge'd to the blades 3.4. by means of the fasteners 36 (Figure 6).@ ..1 1 The peadiee 34, in this,i ineteiile'egfheyeje u I l v i l thereon convolutions constituting' curved surface and constitute traction means for effecting locomotion of the vehicle on supported by means of a standard37 Which is secured to the frame at one extremity thereof,lthe other extremity having a suitable ybearing 'no rotatably sustain' the pon toons therein.

A differential 38 yof standard construction Vis'provided in the shaft 26 intermediate the` endsA thereof to differentially associate the f symmetrical pairs of amphibious traction or gandbn th-eother hand the pontoon-2O and propelling meansconstituting on one hand the pontoon y19 andthe chains 28 and 29,

thechains and 31, it being understood that thedifferential is desirable in maneuveringV the vehicle in `various directions as will subsequently be described.

The power means for driving the propelling means, in this instance, consists of an internal combustion engine 40 of standard construction, Which is mounted on the frame 10 near the forward end thereof. A driving shaft 41 is operatively connected to the crank shaft of thevcombustion engine 40 by means of a flexible or universal joint 42, the other extremity ofthe .shaft 41vbeing connected to the differential 38 by means of gearing ycommonly provided in the differential `casing for that purpose.

` The steering mechanism, in this instance, consists of a suitable disc 43 rotatably mounted Aon a shaft 44 disposed between `the vertical spaced standards 45 and`46 which are pivotally associated with the floor of the frame 10 by means of the rod 47 -vjournaled in the spaced,y members48 and49 rotatably mounted in any appropriate manner to the floor ofthe frame 10.- A helical .spring 50 is disposed intermediate the standards 45v and 46 around the shaft 44 to normally urge the disc ina'vertical operative position, so that the latter Will have a frictional driving relation With the surface being traversed by the vehicle, it being understood thatrby turning the rdisc 43 inthe desired direction the vehicle may be selectively turned to approach any direction. vThe differential coinpensates for the difference in speeds of the propelling means on either side thereof during the turning.movement. Qbviously, this y disc 43V will serve asa rudder for steering purposes in Water, it 'being positioned in the boW ofthe vehicle.` It i s"to be-noted that the standards45 and 46 are pivotally mounted as described above to .move in a clockwise direction against the action of the spring 50, so that the disc 43 Will be moved backwardly when it strikes ank abutment as When the vehicle passes from Water to land, therebyvavoiding the obstructions Without any destructive resistance. The abutments 48 and 49 are rotatively associated with the floor of the frame l0 by means of avertically extended rod 51 which is lqournaled in the frame and the end of Which is operativelyxconnected to a cord 54 Which is in frictional contact With appropriately spaced pivotal rollers 55, 56, 57, and 58. The cord 54 is operatively connected to another crank arm .57

Which is secured to a steering rod 59 having a Ysteering` Wheel 5.9 lof standard construction, fixed to theextremity thereof. y A pair of clutch `control rods 138 are operatively connected to the steering rod 59. sol as to automatically disengageits respective clutch 38" which selectively establishes a driving connection between the traction means disposed on either side of the differential 38. With this arrangement it will be apparent that the traction means on either side of the differential may be automatically rendered inoperative to facilitate' the steering of the vehicle in a customary manner.

A double-Wall. body 60 of any suitable configuration, is securely mounted on the fiame 10, it having a Windshield 61 secured in the front end thereof, with portholes 62 and 63 provided in the side Walls so that the exterior thereof may be conveniently vievved from Within. An opening 64 is provided, in this instance, in the top of the body for ventilation purposes. A closure 65 is hingedly mounted as at 66 to close the opening 64 Whenever desirable `such as When the vehicle passes from land to Water, it being desirable to exclude all Water from ivithinthe body. As shown, the closure 65, is automatically operable responsive to the tilting of the body occurring when the vehiclepasses from land to Water so that there will be vno ing an iron core 68 in the form of a rod connected to an ear 69 iixedito the closure 65. A circular metallic member 7() is suspended in any appropriate manner from the body 60, as by means of the rods 71, there being confined Within the ring 70, a freely swingable metallic pendulum 72 adapted to contact with the ring when the body60`is tilted. An electrical connection is established between the ring 70 and one'vterminal of the electro-magnet by means of the Wire 73, the other terminal of the electro-magnet beingv connected to a 'current 'source byv means of a Wire74so lthat the pendulum 72 and the ring 70 constitute the ends of an 'electrical circuit. lVith this arrangement,

the pendulum contacts with the ring 70,

thereby energizing the electro-magnet 67 which effects movement of the closure 65 to its closed position.V Obviously, anyv appropriate means may be provided to maintain the closure over the opening, it being desirable that a latch be provided which-requires a manual release ofthe closure.

gio

iis

A snow guard 7 5 of sheet material issuspended from the underside of snow under the chassis.. ,Runners 76 are secured to theV forward parti of the chassis to-facilitate its Vmergencefrom the water to land.

`llithin the body 6() there is provided any number of seats 77 which-are sustained by vthe frame l so as to accommodate individuals 'confined within th-e body; It will be apparent from the foregoingthat an amphib- K ious vessel has been provided which travels with equal facility on able depends largely on the power means a0, since the traction means hereinabove described are adaptable to effectively operate out departing at high or moderate speeds.

I-am aware that many changes may Vbe made and numerous-details of construction may be varied through a wide range withfrom the principles of this invention, and I therefore do no-t purpose linishaft, a plurality of endless chains intermeiting the patent grantedhereon, otherwise than Anecessitated by the prior art.

Iclaim as my invention:

1. In a vehicle, a frame, propeller pontoons rotatively mounted on either side of said frame, a shaft disposed intermediate said pontoons, gearing operatively connecting said shaft and pontoons, a differential in said shaft, sprockets mounted on said diate said pontoons, sprocket wheels mounted on either side of said differential von said shaft for driving said chains, and blade moving said vehicle.

propellers carried at spaced points ony said chains to cooperate with said pontoonsv for 2. In a vehicle, a frame, propeller pontoons rotatively mounted on either side of said frame, 'afshaft disposed intermediate said pontoons, gearing operatively connect..

ing said shaft and pontoons, a differential in said shaft, sprockets l.mounted ou said ofthe framev eX- tending horizontally between' chains and -paddles so as to prevent the accumulation land or Water or ice, 4 it being understood, that they speed vobtainshaft, a plurality of endless chains intermediate said pontoons, sprocket vwheels mountedon either side of said differential on said shaft forv driving said chains,'blade propellers carried aty spaced points on said chains to cooperate with said pontoons fo-r moving said vehicle, and amphibious steering meansv `mounted in the lbow of said vehicle and clutches to disengage power means from either 'side of traction members.

3. In avehicle, aframe,l propeller pontoonsrotatively mounted on .either side of said frame, a shaft disposed intermediate ysaid pontoons, gearing operatively connect- ,ingsaidsliaftand pontoonsra differential saidl steering meansl comprising a centrally7 disposed disc, a support for said disc, said support being pivotally associated with said i frame, and resilient means f-ory .normally maintaining said supportin an operative position and clutches lto disengage .power meansfrom either side of traction members.

Il. In a vehicle, a frame, propeller po-ni toons yieldablysupported from said frame, and other vpropelling means carried by said frame, said propeller pontoons and other propelling means constituting amphibious traction means. Y i f' 5. In a vehicle, a frame, rotary Vpropeller `pontoons yieldably associated with said frame, on'either side thereof, other propelling means disposed between said pontoons,

fsaid propellingmeans being'in pairs, and

a differential disposed kcentrally of said pontoons and propelling-means.

6. Ina vehicle, a frame, propelling pon-V toons, supports for said pontoons, resilient Vmeans in said supports for yieldably suspending said pontoons, and driving `means for said pontoons including a shaft extending axially through each of said pontoons,

said shafts being journalled in -said supf ports and hermetically sealed Ato said pontoons.

In testimony whereof I have hefunto ,subscribed my name,Y l

SAMUEL conn* 

